The heart of the University of Bologna, Palazzo Poggi is more than just a museum: the headquarters of the former Institute of Sciences, it is the place where the Renaissance meets the Enlightenment at a time when the city was the world capital of experimental science.

One of the very few museums in the world to preserve its collections in their original 18th-century layout and display cases, visiting Palazzo Poggi will be like immersing yourself in the adventures of the Royal Geographical Society‘s explorers, among anatomical wax models, rare animals and exotic plants, ship models, and the marvelous Great Hall of the Historical Library.

A “Around the World in Eighty Days” paradise in the heart of Bologna’s university district, among ship models, monumental libraries, and cabinets of curiosities.

An Architecture of Power and Knowledge

Built in the mid-16th century as the residence of Cardinal Giovanni Poggi, it became a seat of “encyclopedic” knowledge in the 18th century when Luigi Ferdinando Marsili, a nobleman, soldier, and scientist, convinced the Senate of Bologna and the Pope to purchase Palazzo Poggi in 1711 to house the Institute of Sciences.

Here, in fact, you can visit the sum of 18th-century knowledge and scientific discoveries in a magnificent period setting, such as the beautiful Aldrovandi Hall with early 20th-century exhibition booths in a refined sage green.

The Sea Voyage: The Hall of Ships

The most cinematic experience at Palazzo Poggi is undoubtedly the collection of naval models. Bologna was, in fact, the only place where a scientist could simultaneously study the structure of a French warship, a Venetian galley, and an English merchant ship, comparing their construction secrets in a single room.

The ships on display are not mere models, but rather period technical prototypes, crafted with pinpoint precision by master shipwrights as fundamental study models before proceeding to the actual construction of the original ships.

Many masterpieces are on display, including “Le Royal Louis”, a first-rate French flagship, one of the very few models in the world to have reached us with the complete and original armament of 1692, and “Le Bien Aimé”, a 1757 vessel built for the East India Company.

War Architecture and Fortifications

Palazzo Poggi conceals a unique warlike and engineering soul. The rooms dedicated to Military Architecture are a parade of wooden and plaster models of fortified cities, bastions, and siege engines.

In an era when war was a science, the mathematical proportions needed to make a city impregnable were taught here. It is a visual journey through the maps of Europe contested by the great empires.

The Library: The Cathedral of Books

Wandering through the halls of the Bologna University Library (BUB), located within the Palazzo Poggi complex, is a mystical experience for any lover of design and history. Among its treasures:

• The Great Hall: designed by Carlo Francesco Dotti, it is one of the most beautiful reading rooms in Europe, with tall dark wood shelves filled with ancient volumes.
• Universal Knowledge: many rarities are housed here, such as the manuscripts of Ulisse Aldrovandi, the “father” of natural history, who adds a touch of Wunderkammer to the palace with drawings of real and fantastical creatures.

Palazzo Poggi is truly a dream museum for every lover of knowledge, aesthetics, and adventure novels by Verne and Salgari.

The Secret

On the ground floor of the building is the Carducci Hall. Here, from 1860 onwards, and for forty-three years, the poet Giosuè Carducci held his literature lectures. Inside, the original furnishings are preserved, as well as the bronze bust sculpted in Rome by Bastianelli.

Useful Info

Museum of Palazzo Poggi
Via Zamboni 33
40126 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 2099610

Admission: €10 full price